Yacht Reviews NZ

Like her bigger sister (the Soana 47, reviewed in our June 2018 issue), Fountaine Pajot’s new 12.5m Astrea 42 is a spacious, cleverly-designed catamaran with loads of features tailored to comfortable living and fun cruising.

Forty years ago, the splash of amateur-built yachts being launched was a weekly occurrence; these days they’re a rarity. And if we’re talking amateur designed as well as built yachts, well that’s about as common as being struck by lightning.

With its new-generation Sun Odyssey 440, Jeanneau has introduced a yacht with design features so good they’re sure to be migrated to the rest of the models in the French builder’s stable.

The Oceanis 41.1 is Beneteau’s performance version of the 41 – the company’s more modest 12.4m model. The .1 extension doesn’t sound like much, but the distinction provides plenty of extra zip.

All boats – says the old adage – are something of compromise. An inevitable trade-off between great, OK and indifferent features. So it’s pleasing when the pendulum swings to the ‘great’ side of the equation.

The recent Windcraft Owners’ Regatta provided the perfect opportunity to explore Hanse’s new 418 – the upgraded replacement to the popular 415.

Easy to tow, simple to rig, quick to launch – topped by a generous splash of adrenalin-inducing performance. A trimaran for the modern family.

The elegant simplicity of the Navigator design has struck a nerve in a society flooded with high stress and hi-tech. It reassures you that the world is not such a bad place after all.

Trailer-sailers tend to fall into one of two camps – cruiser or racer. But occasionally you come across one that manages to skilfully blur the boundaries.

You know something’s up when a hardened petrol-head launching his jet-ski at the boat ramp stops to admire a timber yacht. “Bloody beautiful!” The smitten jet-skier was ogling Jade – a Gem 23 class day-sailer – and he was one of many admirers.

A sunny day on the Hauraki Gulf might be half a world away from Dracula’s castle – but the dead travel fast.